Beautification Machines
Beautification Machines marks a return of the Diaz Hope's collaboration with sound artist, Jon Bernson. Current explicitly partisan media outlets allow us to get away with hearing only the points of view with which we agree. This contradiction between the vast availability of information and the limited exposure most people have to it has contributed to a rise of inflexible political agendas. Democracy requires compromise, yet partisan networks such as FOX and MSNBC tend to view compromise as weakness, exhorting their viewers not to engage in it. Building on 2014’s Beautification Machine (now part of the Nevada Museum of Art’s permanent collection), Beautification Machines doubles down on the mission of containing the vitriol of the partisan news media by use of their very own content. This is accomplished by creating a multimedia sculpture with two neutralizing poles, respectively containing live feeds from FOX and MSNBC news. Voiding partisan content for the contentment of all, the counter-intuitive installation creates a meditative environment out of content that was originally filled with emotional manipulation and political agendas.